WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT IN TAMIL NADU A Historical Perspective Tamil Nadu Forest Department 2016 FRONT COVER : SKETCH OF PILLAR ROCK KODAIKANAL - DOUGLAS HAMILTON (1865) BACK COVER : SKETCH OF SLENDER LORIS - M. KRISHNAN MENTOR'S MESSAGE In recent past, I have mentored the Tamil Nadu Forest Department (TNFD) in taking several initiatives for documenting the unparalleled historical work done by the TNFD over a timeline covering about a century and a half. The first such attempt was the book - “History of Forest Management in Tamil Nadu”, followed by bringing out the “Hall of Fame” and the installation of the bust of Dr.H.F.C.Cleghorn, the father of forestry in India at TNFA, Coimbatore. In continuation of these efforts this book namely “Wildlife Conservation and Management in Tamil Nadu - A Historical Perspective” is being brought out. I have constantly encouraged and guided the TNFD to undertake such initiatives which install a sense of pride in the service, a pride in donning the forest uniform and a sense of belongingness. The Foresters should proudly feel that they are the torch bearers of a very rich legacy and they should emulate the pioneering spirit of their heroes, inculcate their work ethics and their rigours of scientific enquiry. In today‟s socio-economic-political governance context, a Forester has to play a very crucial role, the impact of which will be felt outside the forest areas. Foresters are natural capital managers and they are as important as the managers of the financial and physical capital of the nation. They play a significant role in providing stability and sustainability to the country‟s eco-systems. In today‟s context of looming water shortages, they also ensure water security for the people. This book focuses on the historical and pioneering trends on wildlife management in our State. This State pioneered study of bird migration in early 1920‟s and it is the last landmass in the crucial Central Asia flyway zone of migration. It has got unique historical- cultural traditions like, Koontankulam where the migrating birds are protected with zeal and treated lovingly as daughters who come back to the parent‟s home for delivery and childrearing. There is focus on the life and contributions of stalwarts like M.A.Badshah, M.Krishnan, F.X.Mascarenhas, Dr.V.Krishnamurthy (Elephant Doctor). Their life should inspire the current as well as the future generations of foresters in the TNFD as well as the activists/nature lovers in the civil society. This book with its timelines clearly establishes the indisputable fact that TN which was the core of the Madras Presidency was the leader and pioneer both in Forestry as well as wildlife management. When a new entrant of the TNFD or a civil society nature lover on reading this book should realize that he/she is a proud torch bearer of an unparalleled legacy and this book will motivate him to raise the bar for wildlife management in TN and take it to world class standards. Any management of the protected areas/sanctuaries which is not world class will mean a sub-optimal utilisation of the natural resources of the State. Also by displaying the hand written notes of stalwarts, we highlight their original work which should be the inspiration for the modern day conservationists many of whom tend to take the easy way out of the internet based cut, copy and paste approach. If the conservation efforts by the next generation foresters /activists have to meaningfully sustain, then the rigour of forests visits, hardships and camping in tough terrains/landscapes have to be undertaken in the same spirit of our pioneers. A Forester should cover every inch of his jurisdiction on foot several times over and should be familiar with every species of flora / fauna in his area. The front and back covers which have the hand drawn black and white sketches, convey the passion and a deep sense of attachment to detail by the pioneers and their commitment of time, energy and efforts towards conservation and wildlife management. As we move to the landscape level management for wildlife, TN which is blessed by nature with three major biospheres namely, Gulf of Mannar, Nilgiris and Agasthiarmalai, is uniquely placed to take the lead and set the benchmarks for landscape management for the entire country. When a Forester is on camp is one of the beautiful landscapes, he should in the solitude of the forests, ponder over the lives and contribution of the previous stalwarts and then internally evaluate his contribution towards conservation and wildlife management. He should always express his gratitude to these pioneers and stalwarts who through their hardwork and vision have bequeathed to the current / future generations, a well defined and a well conceived system of wildlife management and conservation. FOREWORD The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has the distinction of managing forests and the wildlife very successfully for the last over 150 years. The policy of environmental stability mandating afforestation through people's movement has led to Tamil Nadu registering maximum increase of forest cover of 2501 sq.km in the country for the period 2013-15 (Government of India, FSI Report, 2015). The achievement is quite significant keeping in view the continuous challenge faced by the Forest department on account of increasing population and protection of existing forest resources. Tamil Nadu has been a pioneer State in Protected Areas management, including conservation and improvement of terrestrial / marine flora and fauna. The State's sincere efforts in establishing range of Tiger habitats in Western and Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu have resulted in increase of tiger numbers from 163 in 2011 assessment to more than 300 in 2015 assessment. The state is having 5 National Parks and 15 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 15 Bird Sanctuaries and two Conservation Reserves besides four Tiger Reserves covering a total protected area of 7069.72 sq.km, which comes to 30.90% of the State's forest area. All this possible because of the State and particularly the Forest department's commitment to serve the cause of conservation. The Forest department has a rich legacy and history in conservation established by its illustrious seniors. This rich history and tradition in wildlife management and conservation should be known by the future generation of young Foresters Scientists and general public. We thought it fit to bring out a book titled "Wildlife Conservation and Management in Tamil Nadu" - A Historical Perspective, based on our experiences covering nearly 35 years of service in this State. It is important to make people understand the rich wildlife history in this State, just not for information alone, but, for meaningful action through programmes and for future policy formulation and perspective planning. We are convinced that future of wildlife depends on a strong bonding between people and forests. This book brought out in a very short time through its various chapters are an attempt to draw the attention of the people to the rich wildlife history, on-going programmes and policies and seek their concern for conservation. We have made efforts to carefully document the rich history and the efforts of the Forest Department over time for conservation gains. The wildlife conservation over the years have prospered in the State because of massive community participation, use of technology, student and NGOs participation, transparency and above all, the timely support and encouragement of the Government. The learning from our forests and wildlife is to make us to revere and respect them still more and natural resource. Conservation needs innovation and action not just by Foresters alone, but also from people who are the true custodians and have to provide the required support for enhancing the wildlife wealth. We hope, the readers will appreciate the contents of this book, which have been drawn mostly from experiences, reports of senior foresters who have served in the State. We wish to profusely thank Thiru. Hans Raj Verma, IAS., Principal Secretary and Mentor for his vision to bring out such a book at this most needed juncture. We wish to place on record the excellent work done by Thiru V. Ganesan, IFS., Chief Editor and his team, Thiru S.M. Abbas, IFS., Thiru. Sudhanshu Gupta, IFS., Thiru A. Udayan, IFS., and Tmt. K. Geethanjali, IFS., for their sincere efforts to compile all information available at such short notices. The contributions given by Thiru K.S.S.V.P. Reddy, IFS., Thiru A. Venkatesh, IFS., Thiru A.O. Limatoshi, IFS., Dr. H. Basavaraju, IFS., and Tmt. Jayshree Vencatesan, Care Earth, are deeply acknowledged. We will be very happy to receive your valuable feedback for improvement of the book. Lot more awareness is required today in the eve of climate change to spread awareness about wildlife, so that people learn to live in harmony with nature to preserve the rich bio-diversity of our beautiful country and the State of Tamil Nadu. There are miles to go. This is a small endeavor. Dr. N. KRISHNAKUMAR, IFS., Dr. V.K. MELKANI, IFS PCCF (HoD) PCCF & CWLW CONTENTS 1. Wildlife Conservation and Management in Tamil Nadu ... 1 2. Wildlife Development over plan periods in Tamil Nadu ... 13 3. Eminent Wildlifers ... 45 4. Protected Areas in Tamil Nadu ... 52 5. Ex-situ conservation initiatives in Tamil Nadu ... 87 6. Veterinarians in Tamil Nadu Forest Department ... 126 7. Biosphere Reserves in Tamil Nadu ... 138 8. Elephant landscape in Tamil Nadu ... 164 9. Tiger landscape in Tamil Nadu ... 171 10. Wildlife protection scenario ... 183 11. Human-Animal conflict ... 195 12. Wildlife Tourism in Tamil Nadu ... 212 13. Wildlife Research and capacity building ... 215 14. Future of wildlife in Tamil Nadu ..